The Saddest Words Ever Spoken Are, “One Day I’ll…”

ONE DAY I’ll ask out the woman I’m crazy about and we may start dating!

ONE DAY I’ll quit this lousy job and try to find one that fits what I really want to do!

ONE DAY I’ll start getting in shape!

ONE DAY I’ll start saving money!

ONE DAY I’ll travel the country!

All that sounds great, except that….

ONE DAY when you ask that woman out, you may find someone else got there first or worse yet, that she WAS interested in you, but after she thought you weren’t interested, the attraction is gone.

ONE DAY, instead of leaving on good terms, you may get fired from that lousy job because you were so unhappy to be there that you stunk at it. Then you may have to find another job while you’re desperately trying to find the money to pay your rent.

ONE DAY, you may find that getting in shape takes years instead of a few weeks because it took you so long to get started.

by Sir John Hawkins

John Hawkins's book 101 Things All Young Adults Should Know is filled with lessons that newly minted adults need in order to get the most out of life. Gleaned from a lifetime of trial, error, and writing it down, Hawkins provides advice everyone can benefit from in short, digestible chapters.

ONE DAY, you may have a big engine repair, a great financial opportunity or lose your rent and you’ll desperately need that savings that you never started to build.

ONE DAY, when you’re finally retired and ready to go, you may find you’re no longer healthy enough to travel.

It would be easy to just say, “Carpe Diem! Don’t procrastinate! If it’s important, do it now” and call it an article. However, there’s a larger point that needs to be made.

There is no magical “ONE DAY” coming where all your problems will be gone or when you can finally start living life the way you’ve always dreamed. It’s easy to waste the best years of your life killing time, hoping for that magical “ONE DAY” that comes too late or never comes at all. One day, you may get that girl you want, win that trophy, and hear everyone chant your name – and then it’s done and you’re on to the next thing. Good memories can last a lifetime, but life is always a “what have you done for me” lately business. Every accomplishment, every goal, every dream is just a stepping stone. Got it done? Next! Hit my goal? Next! Finally got my dream! Next!

Happiness is not something that’s doled out in a lump sum like a paycheck. You need to be pursuing the things that excite you and bring you happiness NOW, not at some unspecified time in the future. If you’re unhappy, you need to start taking steps to correct that NOW, not “ONE DAY.” It’s important to do that because the journey is more important than the destination.

Think about the prototypical “ONE DAY” I’ll statement, “ONE DAY, I’m going to retire and have a great time!” Let’s say that’s true and everything goes perfectly. You do retire and spend the 10 best years of your life on a beach, vacationing and hanging out with your friends. Sounds great, right? Well, it would be if you lived 10 years or even 15. Instead, the average man lives until 78. So, if your adult life consists of 48 years of misery so you can have 10 great years at the end, you spent most of your life miserable. Some people might be willing to make that bargain if it was guaranteed that they will have the 10 great years at the end, but you don’t even get that. By the time you want to retire, you may have to keep on working in some menial job to make ends meet. You may also be too old and sick to fulfill those dreams you’ve had all your life.

In other words, the only time that’s promised to you is the time you have right now and so you have to make the most of it. It doesn’t matter if it’s hard, it doesn’t matter if you’re afraid, it doesn’t matter if people tell you that you can’t. Be happy NOW. Improve your life NOW. Go after what you really want in life NOW. Pursue your dreams NOW.

Do it all now so that you won’t be another one of those people who wastes the best years of his life telling yourself, “ONE DAY I’ll….”